Maxbialystock

Pretty amazing 5 innings. Chris Sale is a battler and an example for the other pitchers on the Sox. He said he would be ready and he was. Just 3 pitches, but he uses them well. And just 1 walk.

Agree "turned the season around" is a bit of an exaggeration, but your version gives the Sox several uncounted wins instead of losses. Is it 8? If so, that puts the Sox neck and neck with the Astros for 2d best record in the AL and--you're going to just love this--4 games behind the Yankees. If you convert 1 of the losses to the Yankees, the margin is 3 games. I completely agree a closer has to start sometime, but would challenge you to find just one who started closing on the first day (or first closeable game) of a season. Last season was Whitlock's first ever in MLB. And, for the record, he had 2 saves and 3 blown saves without ever being a closer. At the beginning of the season Barnes and Robles had the experience as closers. Indeed, in the first game of the season, April 8, Whitlock was a reliever who pitched 2.1 innings and gave up 1 run. The 9th inning pitcher was--wait for it--Robles, who pitched a scoreless 9th. Then Dieckman and Brasier gave up the 1 unearned run in the 10th and Crawford the winning unearned run in the 11. In his very next game, April 12, Whitlock pitched 4 scoreless innings in relief and the Sox beat the Tigers. Three outings later, April 23, he pitched 4 more scoreless innings as the starter vs. the Rays, a game the Sox lost in the 10th when Robles gave up an unearned run after the Sox failed to score (with a man on 2b) in the top of the 10th. Indeed, for the month of April Whitlock pitched 16.2 innings--against the Yankees, Twins, Jays, Rays, and Tigers--while giving up 1 earned run for an ERA of 0.54. The Sox won 3 of those 6 games, and could have won 2 others (3-2 to the Rays and 1-0 to the Jays) if the Sox hitting had been better. And you claim that Cora the idiot misused Whitlock in April? Do you even look at actual facts before you sound off? No, you don't. You simply make stuff up.

Out of curiosity, I have to ask what you think is a fair contract for Devers?

I like the idea of Houck and Hill pitching in the same game, and I don't think Houck has the repertoire to start. But I agree with you that moving into the closer job was the best fit and probably should have happened sooner.

I love it!!! Whitlock has exactly 1+ MLB seasons, 59 games, 122 IP, and zero, repeat, zero experience as a closer. Given that Whitlock had never closed before this season, no manager would have made him the closer on day 1. At this point it's pretty obvious Cora has two much better choices to close: Houck, who won the position last month with 6 saves and no blown saves; and Schreiber, who statistically is probably the best reliever the Sox have had in years with an ERA of .62, a WHIP of .62, and a WAR (despite pitching just 29 innings) of +1.9 (3d highest on the team after Wacha and Pivetta). Whitlock has the repertoire to be a starter. We saw that last year when he relieved for multiple innings. So, on a team that was desperate for starters at the beginning of the season, it made sense to give him a shot. His WAR to date, mostly based on starts, is +.9--not far off Eovaldi's (who has pitched 68 innings to Whitlock's 48) +1.3 and better than Hill's (with 70 IP) +.3. So, contend all you want to, but there is zero evidence Whitlock as the closer from day 1 would have turned this season around. A better argument could be made that Cora took too long to give Houck the job, but Houck was also very effective--as Whitlock was last year--pitching 2 or more innings in relief.

Rizzo's had a good career and can still hit/field at age 32, but the one caveat you have to make about a lefty batter going to the Yankees is that short porch in right field. Right field in Fenway is deep except at the Pesky Pole. Looking back, Rizzo and Schwarber--both lefty bats--would have been good choices. However, we don't know what considerations went into not picking them. My guess is the hope that Dalbec could hit. Also interesting is that Rizzo and Schwarber currently have the same WAR, +1.7. The one pricey acquisition Bloom did make was for Story, whose WAR is +2.3.

Dalbec is just one example, but this season every time I watch the Sox play the Rays, the Rays just seem more professional in the field, on the base paths, on the mound, and in the batter's box.

Wisler is a reliever. Kluber should take over in the 2d or 3d inning.

Finally, someone with whom I can agree even though my perspective is a tad different. I think the bullpen will be fine when Whitlock returns-- --it will give Cora three good arms (Schreiber, Whitlock, and Houck) for the late innings of close games; --and the other five can be some combination Davis, Diekman, Sawamura, Crawford, Strahm, Winckowski, Danish, Brasier, Valdez, and even Hill.

Two astounding back to back games at a time when the Sox rotation is a shambles and--according to Sox Prospects--a middle reliever emerges as the Sox ace starter (although his 5 innings vs. the Rays were in relief). In both cases the hitting came through, and in one case, last night, the bullpen completely outpitched the Yankees bullpen and against a tougher lineup. I am not prepared to say the Sox are on the same level with the Yankees. But a 2-2 split despite a decimated rotation is encouraging. So was the three game series in Toronto which I believe would have been won had Houck made the trip. On the other hand--and I say this with the next 7 games being at the Trop and Yankee Stadium--here is the latest on the Sox rotation: Pivetta, our best, has now been clobbered in 2 straight games. Sale, our ace in the hole, walked 5 and threw a tantrum after his last AAA start, will nevertheless start tomorrow night in Tampa. Eovaldi, Wacha, and Hill are still unavailable although Eovaldi might pitch this weekend in Yankee Stadium. All three rookie starters--Winckowski (the best of the three), Seabold, and Bello--were clobbered their last times out. Crawford, projected as a middle reliever, has now gone 10.1 innings vs. the Rays and Yankees while giving up 1 run. He is the Sox ace.

Boy, do I remember that police escort like it happened yesterday. When your knuckleballer actually does get guys out, he also gets the catcher who can, well, catch him--even if Mirabelli has already been traded and is on, I think, the West freaking Coast. Also, while I agree the Sox had a bunch of heroes last night, they did have help. Once in a blue moon, when the Sox are down and times are tough, I bring my wife of 58 years into the study to touch the TV, which she did last night right after the Sox tied it in the 8th. We have now seen two recent games--the other was the 4-0 bullpen shutout of the Rays--in which the Sox have really pulled one out when least expected. In both games Crawford pitched 5 good innings. Speaking of whom, watching him again last night against a very good Yankees lineup (best in MLB), I saw two things that impressed me: that big curve and pretty good command of his pitches. And what continues to impress me about most of the Yankees pitching staff is their ability to keep the ball low, but still tempting and/or capable of being called a strike.

I would go one step further and say it's idiotic if the Sox haven't already done that. And just maybe MLB is idiotic to keep changing the composition of the MLB official baseball.

Agree. We need them healthy with good command and good stuff. Sale may not have the command + stuff. Whitlock should be fine. Hill doesn't matter much. So we really need Eovaldi and Wacha to be good.

All good points, almost exactly the mantra that moonslav preaches. Plus we are very lucky to be Sox fans during the John Henry era with its MLB-leading four WS wins in 20 seasons. 2019 was a letdown and the end of the Dombrowski era, which culminated in a fantastic 2018 season and the 4th WS wins. 2020, Bloom's first, received the full force of the pandemic. 2021 was exciting, especially the postseason, and suggested Bloom and Cora were a good pairing/team. 2022 has been unusually down, up--including the best West Coast trip in years--and now down again thanks to the dissolution of the rotation--Sale, Eovaldi, Whitlock, Wacha, and Hill are all still on the IL. Throw in the lineup slump, the sloppy defense in the outfield and at 1B, and having to play 17 games without a break, including 14 straight vs. the Rays and Yankees. And you/we end up exactly where you said: hoping this too will pass and the essential worth of this team will emerge.

He is part of the problem, but not "huge." Indeed, the Sox have three unreliable components right now: hitting, starting pitching, and defense. In this current 4 game losing streak, the biggest liability is starting pitching.

Can someone please explain to me how anyone on talksox would claim Vazquez is the best catcher in the AL?

Well said.

I share that concern. I'm somewhat interested in the future, of course, but I can't watch it online like I can the games, and those are getting to be painful.

Arroyo has now made two good plays at 3B and hit a single--a degree of redemption. Too bad the Sox are back into "with men on base, make an out, and a K would do nicely." As for Feliz, his primary job is to allow other relievers to rest.

In Arroyo's defense, he has played well in the infield, especially at SS. Duran got the night off because of the lefty starter plus his striking out all 4 times last night. JBJ, I will admit, would have caught that fly, but last night he looked sloppy on that triple. Plus he's not hitting this year, especially not lefties.

Price and Sale are not bargain basement. In fact, they are perfect examples of why spending big for starters is just dumb.

No question this Sox team is embarrassing.

Stats are the sine qua non, the language of baseball, and language is the linchpin of the human intellect.

To me a tantrum usually means shouting and a rampage adds the dimension of hitting/throwing stuff. Either way, a bad scene. He is nevertheless a complete professional on the field of play. He rarely shakes off a catcher because he wants to stay focused on technique and execution vs. tactics (the catcher's job). He fields his position well and with enthusiasm. He is extremely competitive in terms of wanting to contribute/win, which is compounded by knowing that the Sox rotation has been decimated by injuries. But he is also in a difficult situation. His last good season was 2018, and even in that season he faded late. He returned last year after tommy john, and was not the old Chris Sale. The rib injury has caused him to miss another 1/2 season, and his upper 90's fastball is probably a thing of the past. And now control/command has become an issue he hasn't had to worry about in the past. If he isn't frustrated, he isn't paying attention. Nevertheless, I look forward to his start on Tuesday.

Meh. Wacha was supposed to start tonight and was scratched, so it's Seabold. And, as you say, Bello is likely to start Monday for the simple reason that Sale, Eovaldi, Whitlock, Wacha (newly on the IL), and Hill are on the DL. On top of that, the Sox are in the middle of 17 games without a break during which they play the Rays and Yankees 7 times each. Sale, who did not have a good game last night at the AAA level--thus his rampage in the locker room--will nevertheless start Tuesday in Tampa because the Sox are desperate for starters. Winckowski is far and away the best of the rookie starters, and last night the Yankees blasted him for 6 freaking runs. Meanwhile the Sox lineup continues its lethargy except for the brilliance of Devers. The defense also continues to suck (despite Story's brilliance and Bogey's consistency). The much maligned bullpen has the Sox most recent win by pitching all 9 innings. In the game before that, they pitched 7 innings, giving up 1 run, in another win. In the now 3 straight losses to the Rays and Yankees, the starters, including Pivetta have all stunk. So, thank you for expertise about Bello starting on Monday, but, frankly, I don't think it matters much. If Plawecki starts, now that would be news.